6 Injured after Shooting at FedEx Facility in Georgia – It’s Never a Joke

KENNESAW, Ga. — A shooting was reported at a FedEx facility in Kennesaw, GA at around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday 4/29/14. Police are searching for gunman.

Update 5/2/2014: It has been widely reported that friends of the shooter had heard him “joke” about “shooting up” his workplace.

It is NEVER a joke! To illustrate this, just yesterday, a 17-year-old student was charged with making a terroristic threat after he posted social media messages Wednesday saying there would be a mass shooting at Raymore-Peculiar High School in Peculiar, Missouri on Thursday morning.

Detectives who searched the Raymore home of Daren A. Davis did not see any evidence that he actually intended to make such an attack, but the threat itself warranted his arrest, Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley said. “Making a terroristic threat is an offense we take very seriously,” Hensley said in a prepared statement.

The nationwide “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign – is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper local law enforcement authorities. The campaign was originally used by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which has licensed the use of the slogan to DHS for anti-terrorism and anti-terrorism crime related efforts.

From the FBI: Behaviors of concern can help workers recognize potential problems with fellow employees. If a coworker begins acting differently, determining the frequency, duration, and intensity of the new, and possibly troubling, behavior can prove helpful. Specific behaviors of concern that should increase vigilance for coworkers and supervisors include sadness, depression, threats, menacing or erratic behavior, aggressive outbursts, references to weaponry, verbal abuse, inability to handle criticism, hypersensitivity to perceived slights, and offensive commentary or jokes referring to violence. These behaviors—when observed in clusters and coupled with diminished work performance (as manifested by increased tardiness or absences, poor coworker relations, and decreased productivity)—may suggest a heightened violence potential. It must be pointed out, however, that no single behavior is more suggestive of violence than another. All actions have to be judged in the proper context and in totality to determine the potential for violence.

If you hear a threat – veiled or obvious – please don’t shrug it off as a joke or meaningless banter; think of the victims at FedEx and elsewhere, and if you See (or hear) Something, Say Something. It is NEVER a joke.

At a Hospital News Conference, Officer David Baldwin of Marietta Police described the scene at the hospital as very organized and ready for injured.

Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said the male suspect, who has not been identified, arrived at the facility at 1675 Airport Road and started shooting at people. The suspect ran after the shooting and has since been announced as deceased by a self-inflicted gunshot.

More than 50 emergency vehicles descended upon the scene. There were multiple victims, all of whom were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital; their names and conditions were not immediately released.

FedEx employees were being turned away as they tried to arrive at work. Those who were already at work were held in a warehouse on the property. The facility is on lockdown.

Police have set up a staging area for families – go to Sparkles Roller Rink – 1000 Mccollum Parkway Nw, Kennesaw, GA 30144.

FedEx spokesman Scott Fiedler released a statement at around 7:20 a.m., saying, “FedEx is aware of the situation. Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our team members, first responders and others affected. FedEx is cooperating with authorities.”

“I’m loading my truck for maybe two hours when I hear this scream, like a woooooo,” Collin Harrison, a 22-year-old package handler at the facility tells Mashable. “Then I hear this lady scream right after, it was really loud, so I look over to where the entrance is and I don’t see anything, but then I hear managers over radios and they’re like, ‘Everybody get out of the building!’”

The male shooter was wearing a black tank top, a black hat, black cargo pants and wearing shotgun shells strapped across his left shoulder. He is aiming his gun towards the back of the building.

“I hear one gun shot, and maybe five seconds later another, and I’m out of the building.”

Collin says the shooter then ran into the building, and he doesn’t think police have found him yet. He describes the building as “huge,” and says the shooter “could be in there for a long time.”

“When I tell you list like a maze of conveyer belts up there, if you don’t know how to get around…” Collin says, “He could be in there for hours.”

Collin, who has worked at the facility for two years, says the shooter’s name is “Getty,” though he isn’t sure if that’s his nickname or real name.

“The last time I saw him it was friday, and me and another employer were talking about him and how he requested to take off saturday. But his manager told him no, he took off anyway, and he didn’t show up this morning. We thought maybe he just quit,” the witness says.

“I tell people on my other shift, one of these days a manager is gonna say that one thing to that one person and this is gonna set them off, and they gonna come in here and start shooting, and that happened today,” Collins says, describing some of the managers as “rude.”

“It’s crazy man. I’m not surprised that this happened, I’m just surprised I saw it happen.”

Firestorm has worked with hundreds of businesses, organizations and schools to keep tens of thousands of employees, customers and students safer. Firestorm provided crisis management and crisis communications services to Virginia Tech after the shootings, and more recently to Littleton, CO, Roswell, NM and Jefferson County School District in Colorado (location of Columbine) among others.

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